Occasionally, land becomes damaged or degraded due to human actions, such as construction, contamination, the introduction of invasive species, and/or the like. This damage or degradation can negatively affect the health of native vegetation and/or the population of endangered species. In fact, such damage or degradation can negatively impact humans. For example, disturbing the natural habitat of the land can increase the risk of flooding, reduce access to clean water, or reduce recreational opportunities. Thus, a land owner or a government entity may attempt to restore the land to its natural habitat by reintroducing native vegetation, reintroducing animal species, decontaminating bodies of water, attempting to recreate the original native vegetation coverage, and/or the like.
As part of the habitat restoration process, it may be important to monitor the health of bodies of water over time. Currently, this task is performed by a biologist or oceanographer. For example, a biologist may visit the site, collect water samples from a specific area or portion of the site (e.g., along a transect), analyze the samples in a lab to identify current contamination levels (e.g., by visually inspecting the features of the collected samples), and estimate a status of the decontamination process based on the analysis. Often, however, sites of interest are in remote locations and it is difficult for the biologist to access the proper area to take samples.